Second Time Around
by pinkturtle55
Summary: After Doyle was killed, Emily was given a second chance at life. But he made a deal and now someone else is going after her—and her team. Will she revert back to her old ways and try to handle it alone, or will she trust the team enough to ask for help?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! I wrote this for Chit Chat on Authors Corner Orignal Character challenge. I was assigned the character Emily Prentiss and given the OC Hossain Karchanda. This is my first time having an OC as a main character (other than an UNSUB or other small character) and I'd love to hear what you think, or if you have any advice for me. **

**Warning: JJ/Emily femslash **

**I do not own Criminal Minds **

Hossain Karchanda watched her. He'd been doing surveillance for years and was confident in his ability, but still took precautions. The person he was watching had been through the same training as him. She wouldn't be expecting anyone, but she knew his face, and he couldn't let her suspect anything was wrong.

He tugged at his dark beard as he watched her go inside. She had a pretty regular schedule if she wasn't gone on a case. She would go to work at seven and come home anywhere between six and ten. Sometimes he followed her to a bar, but other times it was too risky.

But one thing he knew was that he was going to get this right. He was not going to make the same mistake the other had, and he would not let this blow up in his face. He was going to do something that no one else had been able to.

He was going to kill Emily Prentiss.

XXX

When Emily walked into her house she set her bag on the counter and went into the kitchen. When she turned on the radio a Salsa song came on and Emily moved to the rhythm as she went around the house getting ready.

She cleared her books and papers from the dining room table and placed a white lace table cloth over the scratched wood surface. Her mother had mailed it to her last Christmas when she was posted in Turkey.

She preheated her oven for a frozen lasagna and pulled out a bag of green beans from the refrigerator. After dinner was on its way, Emily went upstairs and took a quick shower. She rinsed work of her skin and prepared herself to have a good evening. After she stepped out and wrapped a towel around herself she stood in front of her closet. Delicately she fingered through her abundance of clothing, looking for just the right thing to wear.

The Latin music drifted up the stairs and Emily continued to sway to it. She smiled as her hand landed on perfection. She took it off the hanger and pulled it over her slim shoulders.

Standing in front of the mirror, Emily dried her hair and added a small amount of make-up, only mascara and eye-shadow to compliment her eyes. She had learned the hard way in high school that wearing an abundance of make-up didn't make you pretty.

When she heard the oven beep to say it was pre-heated she hurried downstairs and threw the lasagna in. Then in the short time remaining she continued to pick up her house. She had been told it didn't matter, that her house didn't have to be perfect, but she preferred it this way.

She told herself she just liked to be neat, but in the back of her mind she knew that this way she could control what visitors saw.

When the clock read eight Emily went out to the window and waited for the familiar car to pull up. In the corner of her eye line she saw a black car and recognized it. But she immediately put it to the back of her mind when the car she had been waiting for turned into her driveway.

XXX

Hossain probably knew more about Emily then the rest of her team did. He recognized her need to keep her personal and professional lives separate; it had always been that way. He and Emily had never been friends, and they had never been on a team together, but they had talked.

Emily called him once or twice a year since she joined the FBI when she needed information the Bureau wouldn't have on file. He complied with her wants as long as they didn't obstruct his plans, this way they had a friendly relationship, something he could use to his advantage.

But all the time he had been around Emily he had never seen her in a relationship, but he understood more than anyone else would. He too was single. He never spoke to his family and he never made close friends. Life was easier that way. When there was a chance you would have to leave the country for weeks, maybe months, it was easier to not have to explain to someone. It was best not to love someone.

Love made you vulnerable, that was one of the first lessons he had been taught. Because in the profession he had, you had to not only be willing to give up your life, but the ones you love. That's what he had been taught anyway.

And so that's why he had been so surprised. Originally he thought they could just be friends, even after he witnessed their first kiss. But after visits got more frequent and their conversations got more intimate it became clear to him that there was something more than that.

And at first it had shocked him, maybe even appalled him some, but gradually that went away. Gradually he started to understand Emily Prentiss more. He understood that she tried to be a loner, and he understood why she had never talked about her love life at work. He even understood why she kept the relationship away from the team.

Because not only was it was another member of the team, but it was also a woman.

XXX

Emily opened the door and JJ walked in.

"Oh wow Em…" JJ gaped at the red dress that hugged Emily in all the right places. Emily smiled brightly in response.

"You look gorgeous Jayje," Emily said as they walked into the kitchen.

"But Emily, you look… just wow." JJ looked at her own sun dress. At the time she had liked her choice, but now she wished she was more dressed up.

Emily laughed at the woman's loss for words, "Go sit down, I'll be there in a minute."

JJ complied and once she was out of the room Emily pulled out the lasagna and ran the green beans in the microwave for a minute. She set the food on the table and then hurried back in the kitchen to get her bottle of wine, and as a last minute thought turned the music up a little.

When they were both seated comfortably Emily poured them each a glass of wine, but the low neck line on Emily's dress kept distracting JJ. She watched as Emily slowly took a sip of her wine, and the red stained her lips. JJ loved how Emily didn't wear a lot of make-up; she didn't know why she would ever want to cover up her beautiful face.

As they ate dinner they spoke some, but mostly just enjoyed each other's company. They had both been at work all day, so there was nothing new to tell each other.

JJ complimented Emily's cooking even though they both knew she hadn't made it. After they finished they both brought their plates to the kitchen. JJ was about to leave when Emily rested her hand on her shoulder.

The music from the radio was now playing a slow song that Emily loved.

"May I have this dance?" Emily asked seriously, but with a twinkle in her eye, and reached her right hand out.

JJ grinned and accepted the hand. Emily placed in on her shoulder and JJ did the same with her other. Once JJ had done so, Emily rested her hands on her hips. They moved closer together and swayed back and forth to the soft sound of the music.

Soon JJ moved and rested her head on Emily's chest as they continued to move with the beat. She closed her eyes and let the sound of the music and Emily's touch take her away.

Holding JJ close to her like this gave Emily a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. Knowing that she wasn't going to lose her like she once almost did was what kept her from pulling away. As JJ's hips swayed against her hands she sighed peacefully and gently rested her chin on the top of JJ's head. She could smell her vanilla shampoo, it was how JJ always smelled, and Emily loved it. It was so… her.

Emily held her close and even when the song ended, she didn't want to let go.

XXX

After the Doyle case, Hossain had been interested and hacked into Doyle's Interpol files. He read every page of it. He saw notes from various members of the team, but his eyes caught on Emily's. He read what she had done with him. He too would have done anything to move a case forward, but still, some part of him was disgusted.

But as he continued to read the file he started to identify with Doyle. A man whose job twisted his version of love, and had been betrayed by the woman he did open himself up to. A man whose son had been killed to get to him, and had been betrayed by all he trusted. A man whose freedom had been taken from him.

Doyle stayed in his mind for months, and then those turned into years. Hossain thought of how easily he could have been Doyle. How really the only thing that separated them was geographical distance. If he lived where Doyle did his talents could have brought him fame and fortune. But now all they brought his was a four by four cubicle.

So that's why when Hossain heard of Doyle's escape, he found him. He used information from the files, and his instinct. It even surprised Hossain that he had been able to do so quite as easily as he did, and then he wondered why no one else found him.

But that thought easily left as Hossain found Doyle alone and held a gun to his back.

He could have just as easily pulled the trigger, but that's not what he wanted. He wanted to meet the man that had taken over his mind since Hossain first heard the name Doyle.

They sat down across from each other at a bar and he was exactly how Hossain had imagined. He still had his thick accent, and he looked much like his pictures, except older. His eyes were dark and narrow. Hossain knew he had to keep it short if he wanted to talk before Doyle ordered his men to take him. Or kill him.

So he made his plea. Hossain said he wanted to help Doyle, but of course Doyle was skeptical. Why would an Interpol agent want to help him kill the agents who arrested him?

So Hossain told him the truth, and added some things he hadn't even thought about for years. Hossain told Doyle about how he had come to America from Lebanon. There had been an uprising against the government and the United States came to "help".

His father had fought back and had been beaten. Hossain had watched as American soldiers used the butts of their guns even when he stopped fighting back. But more than those images he heard his mother's tears and his sister's screams.

While the country was still in turmoil, the American government started to evacuate. They hadn't cared whether or not Hossain wanted to leave because his mother had signed papers for him to be taken away. After he arrived to America he could no longer find his family. He lived on the streets and eventually worked his way up to a small apartment.

Doyle then wanted to know why the United States government would hire a man like him.

Hossain told him about how once he got enough money he bought a laptop. He started searching for his sister. He did so by hacking into any and every government database. FBI, CIA, NSA, and eventually Interpol.

He finally found his sister, only to see she had been killed by a rebel before making it on the boat. It wasn't too long after that when people came knocking on his doors. He was interrogated for days, held in cellars, and refused food. All to see if he was a terrorist.

At this point Hossain hated America so much that he spat on any interrogator who came in. Eventually when the agents figured out he had no terrorist connections, they offered him a deal. He either works for them on a very short leash, or goes to jail.

But as he gained their trust, his leash lengthened. And now after fifteen years at Interpol he was a trusted and respected hacker.

Doyle had chuckled and let out a small smile. He liked and trusted this man. He told Hossain his targets and Hossain nodded eagerly.

But then Doyle said he didn't need help now, but if something were to happen where he couldn't finish his task, it was up to Hossain to do so.

He told Hossain he had to think of his father and his mother and his sister if it came to the point where he had to kill the woman who had killed him.

Doyle wanted her, he wanted to make her pay, but he had always thought ahead. So if he couldn't kill Emily Prentiss, he would do anything to make sure she was dead.

**I'd love it if you'd review and tell me what you think! Either what you like, don't like, any advice, or really anything else. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, I ended up going out of town for a while. But I want to thank you SO much for all of your support, both reviewing and favoriting/alerting! And I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**I do not own Criminal Minds**

Emily groggily opened her eyes to someone shaking her shoulders. She looked up and saw JJ leaning over her, and was caught by her deep blue eyes.

"Time to wake up Em," JJ leaned down and kissed her.

Emily mumbled something unintelligible and didn't move. With a sigh JJ turned around and walked into the bathroom. Moments later Emily heard the shower running, and then JJ walked out again. All she had on was a fluffy white towel that stopped midway down her thighs.

Emily's eyes widened as JJ walked over to her. "If you don't get up we won't have time to shower," JJ said as Emily stared at her. Then she turned around and as she moved to the bathroom, dropped the towel behind her. Just seconds later Emily was out of bed.

XXX

"It's a wonder you ever got to work on time before I moved in with you," JJ said as she leaned against Emily under the steaming water.

"While I was gone I slept in a lot, I guess it just became a habit," Emily explained as she rubbed shampoo in her hair, "And anyways, I never had a reason to wake up early then."

JJ sighed as Emily massaged soap into her shoulders, and then the rest of her back.

After they finished their shower they both dried off and put their clothes on for the rest of the day. Before Emily left the bedroom though, JJ stopped her.

"I have something for you," She said and for the first time Emily noticed she was holding her hands behind her back.

Emily eyed her suspiciously and waited for her to reveal what it was. From behind her back JJ took out a long black velvet box and handed it to Emily.

Emily opened it and her eyes widened when she saw what was inside, "Oh, Jayje, you didn't have to get me anything."

"I know," JJ smiled, "but I wanted to. I want this to remind you of how much I love you every time you look at it. I don't ever want to be far away from you again, but if we ever are, if even for just a day, now you will always have something to hold onto."

Emily's eyes glistened as JJ helped her clasp the charm bracelet around her left wrist. On it had her and JJ's birthstones, the FBI symbol, a small silver heart, and a cat charm.

"I love it," Emily whispered as she looked at the charm bracelet. It represented everything she was, and it meant even more that JJ knew that.

XXX

Hossain sat silently and watched. Although Emily Prentiss was his primary target, he had others. They had all been there when Doyle died, well, all except Penelope Garcia. But she had still participated. So now Hossain kept a safe distance as he trailed Derek Morgan down the road.

He wasn't surprised when he pulled into the BAU. Morgan's schedule usually consisted of work, home, Garcia's house, and the gym.

Hossain stayed in the street and watched as Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Spencer Reid, and Penelope Garcia arrived. And he watched as eventually Jennifer Jareau and Emily Prentiss pulled up in separate cars.

He put his ear piece in and waited until their voices were registered in the bugs he had planted a few weeks ago.

XXX

"Mornin' Prentiss," Morgan greeted as she walked in to the bull pen.

"Morning," She replied, "How was your evening?

Morgan examined her carefully. The smile on her face, and the way she seemed to glide into the room. Soon a smile spread across Morgan's lips too and he laughed, "More like how was your _night_, Prentiss? It looks like someone got lucky."

"That's something you'll never know." Emily smiled mysteriously and sat down at her desk pulling out a pile of paperwork.

"Come on, Prentiss! Just a first name," Morgan urged.

"Lips are sealed," Emily made the sign on locking her lips and turned to concentrate on her work.

A few minutes later JJ came down from her office with a pile of paperwork in her hands.

"Sorry guys," She apologized as she dropped two more files on each agent's desk.

Morgan groaned loudly, and then turned his attention towards JJ, "Do _you _know who Emily was with last night?"

JJ quickly glanced to Emily and saw the smirk on her face. JJ immediately looked back towards Morgan, "Maybe I do, maybe I don't, sorry boys, can't tell you anymore. I'm under strict confidentiality."

Morgan immediately started to whine and missed the wink JJ gave Emily as she headed back up to her office.

XXX

By now Hossain was quite used to the bantering he heard in the BAU. It was something that they never did at Interpol, and sometimes he wished he could have this kind of relationship with his co-workers. But other times he was perfectly content keeping his distance. As he listened to the rest of their work day he became bored.

All they did was paper work and consultations. Eventually the work day ended and Hossain followed Aaron Hotchner. He followed him to his sister-in-law's house to pick up Jack. He expected them to go back home like usual, but today they were going someplace else.

Eventually they pulled into the zoo and Hossain decided it was safe to get out and follow them in. While they walked around he heard Hotch explaining different animals to his son. Jack's favorites were the monkeys and the giraffes.

Hossain felt a small twinge at his heart as Jack fell down and scraped his knees. He started to cry and Hotch swept him up and carried him into the bathroom to wash his cuts. Jack tried to hold in his tears, but there's only so much a child of his age can do.

Hossain thought of the time his sister had been playing outside and tripped. She had come inside with tears in her eyes and blood running down her knees and elbows. She was only six at the time, but she was starting to find the power in being able to hide your feeling.

That was something he had been learning since he was born. Showing someone your vulnerabilities just gave them something to use against you. And while he had learned that information to hide his own, he was now using it to find others weaknesses.

XXX

"Hey Em, my parents were wondering if we'd come over this weekend," JJ said as Emily sat next to her on the couch in Emily's house.

"What is it today, Tuesday?" Emily wondered as she leaned against JJ's warm body.

"Yeah, we can leave Friday after work."

"Do they know about… us?" Emily asked hesitantly as she looked at her girlfriend.

"They know we're close friends, I think they figured something when I asked if you could come visit with me. I wanted to use this as an opportunity to tell them," JJ explained and took Emily's hand.

Emily nodded slowly, but worry was shown clearly in her eyes.

"There's nothing to worry about Emily, my parents are going to love you just as much as I love do."

Emily still looked uncertain, but then looked into JJ's eyes and it caused her to become a little less worried, "Okay."

JJ smiled, "Do you know how long I've been waiting to be with you Emily? Do you know how much I love you?"

Emily smiled mischievously, "You could always show me again."

JJ turned around and looked at Emily with fire in her eyes. She knocked her down on her back on the couch and straddled her waist with her knees.

Her hands held Emily's face as she leaned over and began to kiss her. Her tongue begged for permission and Emily easily granted it. Emily then pulled down on JJ's back to fill the space between them and JJ complied by leaning her body fully against Emily's.

Between gasps of breath Emily managed to get out, "Bedroom?"

XXX

The buzzing of Emily's cell phone on her bed side table woke her up at four in the morning. She looked over to JJ who was sleeping peacefully next to her and groaned as she leaned over to pick it up.

"Prentiss," She whispered, not even bothering to check the caller ID. She figured it was probably Hotch calling to say they had to come in.

But instead she was in for a surprise when Clyde Easter's voice spoke to her, "Emily, are you alone?"

"Just a second," She grumbled and slowly got out of bed, hoping not to wake up JJ. She walked into the hall and waited to turn the light on until the door was closed. "What is it Clyde?"

"I think you're in danger."

"What?" Emily asked sharply, "Doyle is dead, what are you talking about?"

"I know. I think he has an inside man at Interpol," Clyde informed her.

"How do you know this?" Emily demanded.

"I've heard things from my contacts," He paused for a moment before continuing, "I've noticed a car around a lot."

"Black Honda civic?" Emily asked as her heart dropped.

"Yes."

"Are you positive about this Clyde?" Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper.

"No, but I'm not taking any chances after last time. Can you get out of town for a while? Meet me somewhere?"

Emily glanced at the door leading to the bedroom. She thought of JJ lying there peaceful, oblivious to the hell she was now going through, "I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I mean I'm not leaving, I'm not running again," Emily made her words sound more confident than she was.

The other line was silent for a minute before Clyde spoke again, "Emily, I need you to remember that your team got Doyle killed. If this is an inside man, you are no longer the only target."

Emily let those words sink in and felt tears come to her eyes, but blinked them down. "Call me if you get anything?"

"I will. This is a burn phone; I'll be getting a new one soon. And good luck Emily," His final words held emotion that he would usually never show.

"Good luck to you too," Emily whispered, but he had already hung up.

Emily stared down the hallway and let that conversation work its way through her mind. Anger, fear, and disbelief filled her all at once.

She thought of what Clyde had said, of her team being in danger. She couldn't let anything happen to JJ, or to any of them. She had already put them in danger once, and now she couldn't believe that she had done it again.

She couldn't handle the idea that she was hurting the one person she loved.

**I would love to hear what you think, so if you have time, why not leave a review? :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry about the long wait- I blame school. I've got some big tests coming up, but I'll update as soon as possible, I haven't forgotten about the story! I love hearing from you guys and it'd be great if you left a review :)**

**I do not own Criminal Minds**

When JJ woke up she felt the spot next to her and realized it was empty. She got up and pulled her robe around her, and then checked the bathroom only to see it too was empty. JJ walked down the hallway and then down the stairs, and saw Emily sitting at the kitchen counter. She had a full cup of coffee in her hand and wasn't moving, just staring across the room. She was still in her oversized Yale t-shirt and her hair was a mess.

JJ slowly walked over to her and wrapped her arms around Emily's shoulders, "Good morning beautiful," She kissed Emily, but it was barely returned. JJ gave her another look, it didn't make sense that she would be up this early, she was never up before JJ. That combined with the weird look on Emily's face gave JJ an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Emily?" JJ asked quietly, she felt the coffee cup and could feel how cold it was; it had to have been sitting out for a while. Now JJ couldn't even imagine how long she had been awake.

"Emily?" She tried again, and this time Emily turned her attention to JJ.

"Good morning Jayje, sorry, I'm just a little tired," She smiled, but JJ could see it didn't reach her eyes, "What's up?"

"I was just wondering why you were up so early," JJ kept her voice casual.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep," Emily waved off the question and quickly stood up, "I should go get ready."

And with that Emily left JJ standing alone in the kitchen.

XXX

Hossain groaned. He knew that eventually Emily would figure something out, but he had hoped it wouldn't be for a while. This meant he would have to strike soon, but there was something he still needed to wait for. He wanted to know what Emily would do with this information.

He wanted to know if she'd do what she did last time. Would she keep it from the team and try to handle him on her own? Or would she go to them?

Hossain hoped she would keep it to herself, and her track record made that a very realistic possibility. And the way she was acting now made him even more convinced. This way he could take her out and then move in for the rest of the team. First JJ, then Morgan, then Hotch, Rossi, Reid, and eventually Garcia.

One by one they would just disappear.

XXX

"Let me drive you," Emily offered as she and JJ left out the front door.

"I thought we decided it was best to drive separately," JJ inquired.

"That doesn't matter, just let me drive you," Emily tried to keep her voice even, but it was hard. It was all she could do to not tell JJ what had happened. Every time she wanted to mention Doyle she reminded herself that she needed to keep JJ safe. Doyle had been her responsibility, and now so were his actions and accomplices.

But JJ heard it in her voice, just the hint of desperation. No one else would have caught it, especially with Emily, but JJ had been living with her for months. She could tell when something was off. So no matter how illogical Emily's request seemed JJ complied, because that's what you do for the person you love.

XXX

As Emily drove her car down the street she continually looked at her rear view mirror. Every time she saw a black car her heart skipped a beat, but it was never the one she was looking for. She forced herself to take a deep breath and focus on the road in front of her.

What felt like an eternity later, they pulled into the BAU parking lot. Emily was about to get out of the car but JJ stopped her.

"Emily, is something wrong?"

Emily forced herself to smile, "No, I'm just tired."

Before JJ could say anything more Emily got out of the car and started walking into the BAU. With her right hand she fingered the charm bracelet on her wrist. It made her heart physically hurt to look at JJ. It made her think of all the sacrifices JJ had made when Doyle had nearly killed her. It made her think of the person she played online Scrabble with during all those months of seclusion. JJ had been the one thing keeping her going even though she thought she would never get to see her again.

But there had been a miracle… if you could call it that. But in the end Doyle was dead and Declan was safe again. But in that moment Emily had seen Doyle lying on the ground with a bullet wound killing him, he didn't look like a monster. He didn't look like the man who had tortured her, burned her, and almost killed her. He looked human.

But she hated herself for thinking like that. She had to remind herself that he almost killed Rossi and Seaver, and that he had almost ruined Declan's life.

Now Emily had to make sure Clyde's suspicions were right, there was no chance in hell she was going to risk the lives of her teammates for mis-information. She had to be sure.

She was in the middle of her thoughts when Morgan called her name.

"Yeah?" She asked distractedly.

"You okay Prentiss? I just said your name five times," Morgan said.

"I'm fine," She waved him off, "What do you need?"

Morgan looked between her desk and her, "I was wondering if you were gonna eat that."

Emily looked down to where his eyes were and saw that there was a muffin on her desk. She guessed JJ set it there while she was thinking, "Go ahead," She wasn't very hungry anyways.

It was another day of no cases which meant more paperwork, but by now they had made good headway, and no longer was it towering over them. There was still a lot, but just enough was gone that Morgan decided it could wait to be done.

"Hey Prentiss, you read the Vonnegut book _Player Piano_?"Morgan asked as he held it up.

Emily looked at the cover and when she didn't recognize it, shook her head.

"Well I just finished it, here you can borrow it. It was pretty good, not as good as _Slaughter-house Five_, but then again I don't think anything can be." Morgan tossed the book to her. Emily looked at it and put it in her bag.

XXX

JJ declared it a girl's lunch out day, and there was no way Emily could argue with how excited it made Garcia. They were sitting in a booth at a small restaurant down the street from the BAU and Garcia was ogling at their male server. She didn't understand why JJ and Emily didn't think he was the most sexalicious man- other than Derek Morgan of course- who had ever walked the earth.

JJ gave Emily a look that she easily recognized. For weeks now they had been trying to find the right way to tell Garcia about their relationship. They wanted to make sure that she was the first to know, and that she found out from them. They knew Garcia would see it as the ultimate betrayal if someone else found out first.

But Emily shook her head quickly. She didn't want another thing to pile on to her already too heavy load. JJ gave her a questioning look, but Emily turned her head to look at the menu.

After they ordered Garcia excused herself to the Ladies Room.

"Em, this is the right time to tell her, we keep putting it off," JJ urged as she finally got Emily to look at her.

"Please JJ, let's just do it another time." Emily said as she started picking at her nails.

"Why? This is a good a time as any, if not better."

Emily let out a deep sigh, "I'm just not up to it today. I promise we will do it soon, just not now."

"What's going on with you Em?"

"It's nothing I'm just-"

But JJ interrupted her before she could finish the sentence, "Tired?" JJ wanted to say more but she dropped the conversation as Garcia rejoined them at the table.

Throughout the course of lunch JJ could see it was wearing Emily down to keep up with Garcia. It had been a long time since their last girl time, and she had stories to tell. But Emily nodded, smiled, and asked the occasional question. JJ noticed that not once did she direct the conversation towards herself.

XXX

When they got back to the BAU Garcia retreated to her office to finish the last of her work, and JJ joined Emily in the bull pen. She sat on the edge Emily's desk and watched Reid show them a new Physics Magic trick. But Emily couldn't concentrate on that, all she could do was look at JJ.

She moved her eyes from those perfectly soft legs to her beautiful face; her blue eyes had always been able to captivate Emily. It was those blue eyes that she had woken up to when she had nightmares about Doyle. Even after months alone in a different part of the world, the nightmares still plagued her months after she rejoined the BAU. But waking up and seeing those eyes had always managed to sooth her in a way nothing else could.

Emily's face flushed red when she turned and saw Morgan had been watching her. She looked away in embarrassment and pretended to watch Reid as he started a small flame in the middle of his desk.

She just needed to get through the rest of the day.

XXX

Garcia did her occasional scan of the internet, and something caught her eye. She opened the article and after reading it, quickly printed it out. With it in her hand she ran down to the bull pen. All she could think about were the words, Deadly Car Accident.

**I'd love to hear what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the wait, as I said, school gets in the way. I love hearing from all of you, and I hope you love the chapter! This ones a bit shorter than the others, but I think you'll understand why when you read it. **

**I do not own Criminal Minds**

With the article in her hand, Garcia ran into the bull pen, but pulled short before going to her friends desks. She scanned them and then looked at the piece of paper she held. She didn't know what to do, and she didn't like having this information alone. She looked at Emily, JJ, and Reid before finally turning to Morgan. She could always count of him.

Garcia hastily got his attention and waved him over. Moments later he was standing next to her, "What's up Baby Girl?" He asked.

"Uh… so I was just looking around the internet, I do that sometimes. But I saw these news articles and well this one caught my eye, and I opened it and read it, and I didn't know what to do, I saw the name and thought-"

Morgan took the piece of paper out of her shaking hands and scanned it, and then he went over it again, but slower this time.

"Ah hell," He groaned gripping the paper tightly in his hands. He looked back at the rest of the team in the bull pen and then Garcia. "I got this Garcia, its okay."

Garcia nodded thankfully, and followed behind Morgan as he walked over to the rest of the team.

"Hey Emily, can I talk to you a minute?" Morgan asked quietly. Emily nodded and got up; she followed Morgan away from the rest of the group. Immediately she could tell something was wrong, but she just couldn't think of what could be worse than this.

"Emily, Garcia found an article on the internet, there was a car accident," Morgan said softly and rested his hand on her shoulder.

Emily quickly looked around the large room. She could see Garcia, JJ, and Reid all in the bull pen and through their blinds she could see Rossi and Hotch. The confusion was evident on her face as she tried to think of who could have been in an accident. Her mother? Surely they would have called her by now. Would they have?

"Who?" Emily asked slowly, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

Morgan sighed deeply, "It was Clyde Easter."

Those four words were the worst thing Morgan could have said. The air left Emily's body, and she had to hold on to the desk for support, "Car accident?" She managed to question.

Morgan nodded slowly, "I'm really sorry Emily, it looks like something happened to his brake lines."

Emily forced herself to think, she forced herself to move through the fog in her mind and just think. Car accident… it was the same thing that had killed Lauren Reynolds; maybe he was faking his death. This thought put a glimmer of hope in Emily, Clyde might do that. If he had, the body would have been burned until it was unrecognizable. Even DNA would be hard.

"Did they find his body?" Emily choked out.

Morgan found this question odd, but looked at the article again to check. "When the paramedics got there he was still breathing, but he died before they were able to transfer him. His body was identified by ID and a neighbor."

And that's when any piece of small hope that was there was crushed. Emily looked around desperately and sunk into the nearest chair. Clyde had not faked his own death, he had been killed. Doyle's inside man had cut his brake lines and killed him.

Now there was no doubt, this man existed. He killed Clyde and now he was coming to kill Emily.

XXX

Hossain had watched the scene from a nearby hill. He knew Clyde was going to run away, so Hossain killed him by his own means of escape. As he watched him go over the hill he couldn't help but smile. Clyde had been ornament in the arrest of Doyle, and had even played a part in his death.

To everyone this would seem like an accident, it wasn't hard to do so. He had worked in solving crime for many years, so he knew what investigators would look for. He knew what to leave and he knew what to hide.

And now Emily had nowhere to go. Everyone from her former team in Interpol was dead. Doyle had gotten most of them, but now Hossain got to finish the task.

XXX

Emily quickly excused herself from Morgan, she had to get away. She hurried into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Her eyes were hallowed and dark lines were under them. And as she looked at herself it became all too real. Clyde was dead. The one person she had to turn to was gone. And now she was the next target.

The energy she had used to hide everything she was feeling left, leaving her feeling empty inside. She leaned against the cold tile wall and felt the tears spring to her eyes. She didn't want to lose everything, not again. But she also knew she was willing to give up her life in order to save her loved ones.

Emily heard the door to the bathroom open and was about to wipe her eyes when she felt arms envelope her.

"I'm so sorry Em," JJ whispered quietly as she held Emily. She didn't know what to say other than that, so she just kept her in her arms.

XXX

"I'm going to drive Emily home, could you let Hotch know?" JJ asked as she went with Emily to pick up her bag.

"Yeah," Morgan affirmed, "Make sure my girl okay."

JJ nodded curtly as Emily met up with her again, "Let's go," JJ said softly.

Once they exited the bull pen JJ wrapped her hand around Emily's. Right now she didn't care who saw, all she wanted to do was provide the woman she loved with the comfort she needed. JJ got the car keys from Emily's purse and then opened the door for her.

When they got back to her house, Emily seemed to walk in a daze. JJ led her into their bedroom and went to the kitchen to make tea.

As Emily laid there she balled the comforter up to her eyes to catch any tears. As she pictured Clyde's last moments, she couldn't help but think of Tsia. Emily was the reason Tsia was dead. She thought Clyde was a traitor and sent her away. Emily told her were to go, and that's where she was killed. Emily remembered seeing her body, Morgan oblivious to their connection.

It was the same feeling she had now. Not only had her friend died, but her own life had suddenly become in jeopardy.

Emily heard JJ step into the room and wiped her tears. JJ climbed into their bed and pulled Emily into her arms, "It's okay to cry, you know. It doesn't mean you're weak."

Emily nodded as another tear slipped down her cheek. The feeling of having JJ hold her made her want to cry more, she didn't want to lose this.

She didn't want to lose her second chance.

**I would love it if you'd leave a review and tell me what you thought! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everybody! Once again I wanted to thank you for the fabulous response I have gotten with this story, I love when I get to hear from all you readers :) I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.**

**I do not own Criminal Minds**

Hossain hummed along to the radio as he drove down the empty road. Killing Clyde was satisfying, not even he hadn't expected it to feel this good. Now all he could think about was Emily. He thought about how he was going to kill her, there were so many options.

It was clear that Doyle had wanted her to suffer, so Hossain would follow his wishes. He had never thought about himself as a violent person, but maybe nobody ever does, maybe it just happens. And it was strange, before he had seen this as a job, his duty, but now as he thought about how to kill Emily Prentiss, a smile crossed his lips.

XXX

Emily stared at her clock; it was four in the morning. Just twenty four hours ago her life had been normal, and now it had been turned upside down. Despite the fact that JJ thought she had fallen asleep, Emily hadn't been able to. She tried, but all she saw was Doyle.

Emily would never admit how scared she was. She never told anyone the details of what Doyle had done to her. JJ was the only one who knew about the four leaf clover, and Emily never explained it. Every time she thought of it she could still remembered the smell of burning flesh as Doyle branded her on the chest.

JJ's arms were still wrapped protectively around Emily; she had stayed there all day and all night, not moving once.

And the more she thought about it, Emily felt tears come to her eyes. Rolling over, she met JJ's peaceful face and she wanted to tell her. She wanted to tell JJ everything, and not be alone, but she didn't know if she could. But for the first time ever, Emily thought that maybe she needed help.

But before she could nudge JJ awake, Emily stood up and silently left their bedroom. She walked downstairs and paced up and down the hallway. She double checked the doors and all the windows, but just as she knew they would be, they were locked.

Emily slumped down in the couch with her eyes trained on the front door. All she could think about was how much this was like last time. Sure she had moved, but she kept expecting the doorknob to turn and for Doyle to walk in. She would never forget that day she walked to her apartment and saw that flower resting there.

She would never forget any of it. How concerned Morgan had been, Reid's voice after she blew him off for the movie, JJ's absence…

She remembered taking the ring Doyle had given her and putting it in the toilet. She wanted her team to know that none of it was real. She hated how far she had gone with Doyle to get that profile. Of course that was her job, she was purposefully put undercover because she was his preference, but that didn't make her feel any better.

But most of all Emily remembered how alone she felt. When she heard Garcia's voice on her voicemail all she wanted to do was call her back. But Emily had made a choice to go alone, and that was on her. But this time Emily thought that maybe she didn't have to do it alone. Maybe…

She felt fear tighten in her chest as another tear rolled down her cheek. Somehow she had the courage to face Doyle alone, but she was too afraid to talk to JJ. But maybe that hadn't been courage. Maybe facing Doyle alone had just been pure stupidity.

XXX

JJ blinked her eyes open, but it was still dark out. She moved her hand to rest it on Emily, and realized that once again she was alone in the bed. Immediately she sat up and looked around the upstairs.

As she stood at the top of the stairs she heard a faint sound and followed it into the living room. There Emily was sitting on the couch; all JJ could see were the tears running down her cheeks.

Silently JJ moved and sat next to her. She pulled Emily into her arms and said nothing, just let her cry. JJ wanted to help her somehow, but was that possible after a friend of so many years dies? Was it possible for words to bring comfort? No.

So JJ just held her; occasionally running her hand down Emily's back, or touching her hair. But all the time, saying nothing.

Emily turned her head and through tears looked at JJ. Right now it would be so easy to hide everything; she could just say her grief was for Clyde. Of course it was, but it was more than that. But there was something in JJ's eyes that intensified Emily's want to tell her. In there was the kind of pain that you can only hold for the one you love.

Emily took JJ's hand in hers and squeezed it tight.

"JJ, I need to tell you something," Emily said softly.

JJ nodded, afraid if she said anything Emily might lose her courage.

"I got a call from Clyde last night."

Confusion was clear of JJ's face, and her eyes asked for an explanation, so Emily gave it to her. She told her about the phone call, her doubt, and how it had all vanished with Clyde's death. How she knew it was murder, and how she knew she was next, and then maybe they were after her.

The entire time JJ sat there and stared at Emily, still saying nothing. When she was done JJ threw her arms around her neck and whispered into her ear, "I'm so sorry this is happening Emily, thank you for telling me."

Emily nodded and eventually JJ ended the hug. She took out her cell phone and Emily didn't protest when she called each team member. Emily knew it was inevitable, and maybe she wanted them.

XXX

Hossain arrived at Emily's house to see it was empty. He did a quick trace of her cell phone and saw she was at the BAU. This was not good news. At this timing Hossain was almost positive she had told her team. Now he would have to intercept her. It was all or nothing now, and Hossain was willing to give it all.

XXX

Each team member walked into an empty FBI building, through an empty bull pen, to a conference room. All each of them knew was that JJ had called requesting an emergency meeting at 4:30 in the morning. There was urgency and fear in her voice that got each member out of bed and there faster than ever was thought possible.

Garcia was the first one there. Although she wasn't a profiler she walked in and knew suddenly something was wrong. First she feared there had been a death, there was evidence of crying on Emily, but that fear got smaller when soon everyone else arrived.

Hotch was the last to walk in, after the early morning call he had had to arrange to drop Jack off at his sister-in-laws. He felt bad intruding, but somehow he could sense it was necessary.

And as they all sat there they looked expectantly at JJ, who cleared her throat and started talking.

"I'm sorry for asking you all to be here so early this morning, but we need your help," She glanced over to Emily who reluctantly took her cue.

Emily recounted the same story she had told JJ. All her suspicions, her fears, and her information. Each member reacted differently. Garcia had tears in her eyes, Morgan was mad, wasn't it enough to kill one bastard? Reid was at a loss for words, and both Hotch and Rossi already had plans forming in their heads.

"Nobody leaves this building without telling me," Hotch quickly ordered the group, "As Emily said, we are all potentially targets."

"So what are we going to do?" Morgan asked.

"We're going to do what we do best," Rossi said, "Make a profile and use that to find the UNSUB."

"I have a contact at Interpol, Hossain Karchanda, I can try to get information on any updates in Doyle's file," Emily added.

"Okay, don't tell him anything you don't have to, and don't trust anything he says without getting it checked, we don't know who we can trust," Hotch said and Emily nodded in response.

She reached for her cell phone and realized it was at her desk. "I'll be right back," She whispered to JJ and left the room.

XXX

Emily pocketed her cell phone and was about to turn around when something caught her eye. There was someone entering the building, it was still too early for most people to be arriving. She took a step forward and was even more shocked when she recognized who it was.

As he approached her he smiled.

"Hossain?" She asked, and as he continued to walk towards her, Emily knew. She backed away from him, closer to her desk where her gun was, but he was already too close.

She easily avoided a strike to her gut, but was unable to get out of his grip as he grabbed her around the neck. Emily's eyes widened with fear as she saw him bring a cloth to her face, and despite her struggle, everything went black.

**What do you think? I'd love to hear from you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for everything guys! I should have the next chapter up in the next few days :)**

**I do not own Criminal Minds **

Before Emily even opened her eyes she could feel panic in her chest. When she did manage to look around, it seemed that panic would strangle her. Her chest tightened as she realized she was in the trunk of a small car going way too fast. Her hands and feet were tied, and there was a gag in her mouth. Emily tried to move, but it just dug the rope farther into her skin.

She closed her eyes again and tried to get herself to breathe in calmly. She knew if she let panic take over she wouldn't be able to function properly. But this didn't come easily to her. Whether or not she looked okay on the outside, she was dying inside.

XXX

"I've read Doyle's case file," Reid held up a thick file, with many important parts blocked out in black.

"Have you found any connections between possible accomplices and Interpol?" Hotch asked, all of Emily's other team members during the Doyle case were dead, so they didn't have much to go off of.

"Most of Doyle's other accomplices were shot during our raid," Morgan said, that night was still clearly ingrained in his memory, as it always would be. He flipped open his phone to see if Garcia had come up with anything new.

JJ walked into the conference room, she had gone to her office to get some things a few minutes after Emily went to get her phone. As she walked in she looked around, and then looked out in the bull pen. Hurriedly she ran back to the conference room.

"Where's Emily?" JJ asked quickly.

"She went to her desk, didn't she?" Morgan asked as he looked around.

"She's not there."

"Okay calm down JJ," Morgan tried to keep her from panicking, "Go check the women's bathroom and I'll call her cell phone."

XXX

Emily's body tensed as she felt the car come to an abrupt stop. She flinched as a car door slammed and footsteps rounded towards the trunk. It was opened and the rising sun blinded her, but she saw the outline of Hossain standing over her, "Get up," He commanded holding a knife in her direction.

Emily moved to sit up, but it was all she could do with her restraints. Roughly, Hossain pulled her the rest of the way out and she fell onto the ground. They were on a dirt road in the middle of the woods. Hossain picked her up by the arm and half dragged her, as Emily tried to hop along. He brought her into a small wooden cabin, about 100 feet from the road. It was invisible through the trees, and this road was rarely used. Hossain knew he had covered his bases efficiently.

He got Emily into a wooden chair and tied her to it. He held out his knife again, and this time pressed in against her cheek bone.

"If you try to run or if you try to fight back I will kill your team. I will make them suffer more than you could ever imagine. More than Doyle made you suffer. I'll take JJ first, and I'll tell her how you sold your life for her. I will tell JJ that this is your fault, and she will believe me."

XXX

JJ hurried back from the bathroom with no sign of Emily, and Morgan looked up at her nervously. In his hand was Emily's cell phone, he had found it on the ground a few feet away from her desk.

"Oh no," Tears came to JJ's eyes as she thought of all the possibilities of what could have happened.

Morgan quickly called the rest of the team over, and they surrounded the empty desk.

"Did she leave again?" Morgan demanded from everybody and nobody at the same time, "Did she think she could take him alone?"

"No," JJ shook her head quickly, "She didn't run."

"How do you know?" Morgan asked.

"I talked to her; I know she wanted our help. She wouldn't tell me all of that just to run off and leave me… us," JJ quickly explained.

Morgan pulled out his phone, and without telling Garcia their suspicions asked her to get the video feed from the bull pen and outside the BAU. She was on speaker phone and immediately they could tell it wasn't good. Garcia started to hyperventilate, and wasn't able to explain, so the rest of the team quickly rushed to her office.

When they stood there, they saw a man approach Emily, choke her, and drug her. He pulled her limp body out of the building and dumped her in the back of his car.

"Garcia, I need you to run those plates," Hotch ordered and Garcia quickly followed.

Moments later they got a match, they were government plates from Interpol, but it didn't say whose.

JJ pulled out her cell phone and called one of her connections from the Pentagon. As quickly as possible she explained the situation, they said they would look into it and call her back. Garcia then started a face recognition program, and Hotch put out an alert for that vehicle to all agencies.

XXX

Hossain smiled after he had Emily tied up in the chair, he had been waiting for this day for weeks. He found this small shack in a part of the woods where no one went. This side of the lake didn't have a beach access, just a cliff that dropped to it. Tourists preferred to be on the other side.

He had stocked up everything he would need in the shack. Hossain took a small knife from his drawer and walked over to Emily. Without saying anything he unbuttoned the buttons on her shirt and pushed them to the side.

He looked at the handiwork that Doyle had given her. There was a large scar on her abdomen; Hossain knew that was from where Doyle had stuck her with a wooden post. But then Hossain moved his attention to the small burn on Emily's chest.

He took his knife and rested it on the stem of the four leaf clover. He pressed down and followed the pattern of the burn. Blood ran down Emily's chest and she bit her lip to hold in tears. She kept a look of determination on her face.

She had beaten Doyle, now she could beat Hossain.

XXX

The second JJ's phone rang she picked it up, "Did you get something?"

"Interpol was reluctant to give me any information, but I finally convinced them. The car belongs to Hossain Karchanda," JJ's contact from the Pentagon informed her.

"Thank you," JJ said, "Could you see what else you could find?"

"Sure JJ, we miss you down here."

"I miss you guys too, I would see this as a huge favor," And with that JJ hung up. She hurried over to Hotch, "Hossain Karchanda."

Hotch's eyes widened as he heard that name, "Emily just told be Hossain Karchanda was her contact at Interpol."

"That must be how he was keeping tabs on her," Morgan said right before he called Garcia to have her look into him.

XXX

All Emily could think about was JJ. The bracelet she had given her was still on her wrist, but Emily couldn't see it, but she could still feel the beads against her skin. She tried to focus on that. She tried to focus on a part of JJ that was with her.

As Hossain brought his knife against her Emily tried to think about something else, a way to escape. She could tell he was enjoying this, and it was all she could do not to react. She prayed that the team didn't think she left, and she hoped they were looking for her.

Suddenly all the air left Emily's lungs and pain radiated in her abdomen, "I want you to look at me!" Hossain shouted. He took out a box of matches and lit the first one. He held it to her arm and smiled as her discomfort was evident. He took the next one and burned her chest.

Finally he took a third and after striking it put the flame up to Emily's face. The smell of burning skin sent tears to Emily's eyes more than the actual pain did. She bit her lip and waited for more pain to come, as it inevitably did.

"Why are you doing this Hossain?" Emily asked quietly.

"I'm doing this for Doyle, I am finishing his task," Hossain responded.

"Why? Doyle just used you like he used everybody else."

"Want to know who used me?" Hossain's voice rose, "The United States government used me! They kidnapped me, and tortured me, and finally forced me to work for them."

"And doing the same to me is going to help?" Emily demanded.

"No it won't, but I want to. Doyle went through the same thing I did, so now I am going to finish his task."

"Then why don't you just kill me?" Emily sneered to hide her fear.

"What fun would that be?"

**So what do you think?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, but for some reason I had trouble with this chapter. But you have been so great in telling me what you think, and I'd love to hear more! **

**I do not own Criminal Minds**

The team sat restlessly around the conference table trying to come up with a profile, when all they could think about was Emily. Garcia was able to dig up some stuff on Karchanda. They now knew all about his past, how he was born in Lebanon and then taken away. They also knew how he came to work at Interpol.

"Karchanda most likely identifies with Doyle," Reid said after they finished going over his past.

"And killing Emily was the only thing Doyle didn't complete," Morgan added.

JJ was trying hard to concentrate. She knew that this was the only way to help Emily, but she couldn't. All the nervous energy in her body kept her from sitting still and she was trying not to let tears escape, but she was scared. She was so damn terrified and she didn't know what to do.

She wanted to scream at someone, anyone. Wasn't it enough that Emily had gone through this with Doyle?

"If he had just wanted her dead, Karchanda would have killed her then and there. He wouldn't have bothered to drug her and bring her to his car," Rossi said. These words were supposed to bring comfort to the team, let them know that they still had time to find her, but it did the opposite for JJ. All she could think about was what Karchanda was doing to Emily now.

Emily still wasn't fully healed from her time with Doyle; neither physically nor emotionally, even though it had been months. There were times when she was still too self conscience of her scars to take her shirt off. There were times that JJ would touch her and she would flinch.

It hurt JJ each time it happened, and now this was killing her.

XXX

Emily bit her lip as Hossain walked behind her and grabbed her hand.

"Do you know what they did to my sister?" He demanded as he bent her finger back.

Emily shook her head, but remained silent.

"They killed her!"

Emily let out a cry of pain as she heard the crack and her finger felt like it was on a fire. Hossain moved to the next one and Emily tried to prepare herself. He kept rambling on about something, but Emily couldn't hear. Her mind was foggy with pain as Hossain broke her fingers.

Emily tipped her head back, trying to keep the rest of the tears in her eyes. She knew she had to get away. The team wouldn't find her. They probably weren't even looking. Emily hated to think about what JJ probably thought about her. She was weak and she was a coward.

XXX

JJ was unable to keep the tears at bay and as she felt the first one slip out, she knew what was coming. She jumped out of her chair and hurried out of the conference room and to her office. She slammed the door shut behind her and leaned against the wall.

"No, please no," She cried and balled her fists, "please not Emily, please God, please!"

JJ didn't hear the door open behind her and she didn't hear someone walk up behind her as tears continued to fall to her cheeks

Then, JJ felt arms go around her and pull her in. Morgan held onto her as she shook and cried. She put her arms around him and grabbed the back of his shirt in her fists and held on with all her might. She was so scared and she didn't know what to do.

"JJ, we are doing everything we can to find her," Morgan whispered in her ear, "We did it before and we sure as hell are going to do it again."

JJ nodded tearfully into his chest, but he didn't let go and JJ was grateful for that.

"I know she means a lot to you, she does to all of us, and we are not letting her go," Morgan said forcefully.

JJ nodded again and let her grip around him loosen. She eventually pulled out of his arms and Morgan looked at her red tear filled eyes. He wiped her cheeks with his thumb and gave her a sad smile.

He didn't say anything else and let JJ decide when she was ready to go back.

XXX

Emily tried not to think about what was happening. She tried to push the pain to the back of her mind, but it was hard. She closed her eyes and took in a deep shaky breath.

Hossain noticed she wasn't paying attention and kicked the side of the chair, tipping it over. With the loud thud Emily's eyes flew open.

"That's what I thought," Hossain growled as he loomed over her. He drew back his foot and kicked Emily's stomach and then her chest. The air left her lungs and she laid on the ground gasping for a breath.

Hossain kneeled down and grabbed Emily's chin with his hand.

"You bitch," He spat with disgust, "Now I know why Doyle wanted you to suffer." With that Hossain stood up and left the shack.

Emily tried to breathe through the pain, but it came out hitched and uneven. But once she heard the door shut she started to look around. She had to get out. She didn't know when or even if the team was coming, and she had to get away.

She moved her arms around and realized that she wasn't tied to the chair; her hands were just tied together. She slipped them over the top of the chair and struggled to her knees. Emily breathed heavily as she looked around the shack. Her feet were free, but she had to find someway to get her hands undone.

XXX

"We have been profiling Karchanda like Doyle, but I think we need to be looking into Karchanda more," Reid said as JJ and Morgan entered the conference room, "He may be finishing Doyle's job, but more so he is fulfilling his fantasy. He is taking out all the hurt he has ever suffered on Emily."

JJ held in a breath and blinked her eyes slowly. She had to hold herself together if she was going to be of any help to the team.

"Where would he take her?" JJ asked slowly.

"He feels no roots in this country, so he would have no problem getting up and leaving. But my guess is he didn't go too far. He wouldn't want to wait to…" Reid trailed off as his un-spoken words hung in the silence.

XXX

Unable to find anything to untie her hands, Emily tried for the door, but wasn't surprised that it was locked. Next, she went to the single window, which was also locked. She tried to kick it out with her foot, but it wouldn't budge.

She started to panic as she heard Hossain unlock the front door. She quickly ran and stood behind the door, and when Hossain swung it open he couldn't see her. He let out an angry growl and looked around, but Emily took this as an opportunity to kick the door with her foot and knock him off balance.

Hossain stumbled to the side and Emily kicked him again before she ran outside. There was no path to the road she remembered driving in on, but she knew the general direction.

She stumbled, and without the use of her hands, it was hard to balance herself. She could hear Hossain behind her, and all she could think of was to run, it was pure adrenaline that kept her jumping over roots and avoiding rocks.

But that didn't last. Just as Emily made it to the road she tripped and landed face first in the dust. Quickly she rolled over to her back and spit out the dirt from her mouth. She saw Hossain come out of the woods, the knife glinting in the sun. Emily tried to stand up, but just fell back down with a thud.

Hossain got closer and she scooted backwards, but behind her the ground dropped off to the lake. Emily could see Hossain's smile and she knew she had no choice. With a final breath she crawled backwards two more feet and felt the earth fall from beneath her.

XXX

Hotch answered his cell phone and for a few moments listened before scribbling something down a piece of paper.

"Chopawamsic Park Rangers identified Karchanda's car entering the park, it was a while ago, but they know he's still in there."

As Hotch spoke everyone jumped up and grabbed their bags, "They are going to continue to search, but they won't approach without my approval."

"How far out?" Morgan asked as they hurried to their cars.

"Twenty minutes," Hotch grimaced and JJ clenched her hands together.

Twenty minutes was too long, they needed to find her now.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! I know it's been a while, but I wanted to get this chapter just right, so I had to wait for some inspiration. But hopefully it was worth the wait! Once again I want to thank all of you for your reviews and alerts, I always look forward to hearing what you all have to say!**

**I do not own Criminal Minds**

As Emily hit the cold water it shocked her body, and she had to keep herself from breathing it in. She opened her eyes underwater but couldn't tell where she was. There was no clear up, and she didn't know where to swim.

After a few moments of panic she tried to calm herself down, she spun in circles and began to kick her feet as hard as she could. And when she felt like she had no air left, she finally hit the surface. She continued to kick her feet, but rolled onto her back to help her float. Once above water her breathing was uneven and raspy.

Dread immediately hit her as she looked at the twenty foot cliff she had just fallen from. She didn't know how much longer she could keep herself above water without the use of her arms, and it was too far from any shore.

Emily swore under her breath and tried to find someway to get out.

XXX

With sirens on, Morgan sped past cars, through red lights, and on the road's shoulder. He didn't know what was happening to Emily, but he knew she couldn't wait twenty minutes.

Hotch had called for an ambulance that would be there to meet them, they didn't know how injured she would be.

In the back seat JJ's legs shook and she wrung her hands together. She swore every time an idiot cut them off and caused Morgan to have to slow down. She knew at this rate it would probably only take them ten or fifteen minutes, but they needed to get there now! Tears went to JJ's eyes as she thought of Emily, but she blinked the away.

Reid looked over at JJ and saw all the emotion she was trying to hold back. He reached out towards her and took one of her small hands in his. He held it tightly in an attempt to reassure her they wouldn't be too late.

XXX

Emily spotted a ladder to the left of her that went up to the top of the cliff. Each breath hurt as she tried to swim over to it, and she could feel her energy draining. She was so cold and so tired, but she knew she had to get there.

When she finally reached it she knew there was no way to get all the way up it. Her hands were useless and the rest of her body wouldn't do what she told it to. With a lot of effort she managed to get her feet to climb up the first two wrungs, she turned around, putting her legs through to the other side, and sat on the ladder with her lower body in the water. She leaned heavily to the side, and was just grateful she didn't have to tread water anymore.

She started to shake and tried to think about JJ. When she closed her eyes, she tried to picture her face, but couldn't. She tried to hear JJ's voice, but it was distorted. Emily felt again for the bracelet on her wrist, but felt nothing beneath her numb fingers.

She wanted to cry, or yell, or do something, but it was like her body wouldn't let her. She was stuck inside something that couldn't move or couldn't think. She couldn't control her shaking as she prayed for the first time in what felt like forever.

But Emily knew there was no use in praying she would survive, so instead she prayed that JJ wouldn't be the one to find her. She prayed that JJ would be able to move on, and live her life once she was gone. Emily didn't want her to suffer.

Emily tried to convince herself that they were coming, but deep down she knew they weren't. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep her eyes open.

"I'm sorry JJ," She whispered, and then everything went black.

XXX

"They've spotted the car, we're five minutes out," Hotch said as Morgan sped through the woods, "They have eyes on Karchanda, but not Emily, so I'm having them hold their position."

JJ's heart beat faster and faster as they got closer. She held her breath, and prayed that Emily was okay.

When Morgan saw the Park Rangers he stopped the car and everyone ran out. Hotch showed them his credentials, but said nothing as they pointed through the woods. They could see Karchanda standing by the edge of a cliff.

'Rossi, Reid and I will get Karchanda, Morgan and JJ, find Emily," Hotch ordered as they all un-holstered their weapons. They nodded in agreement and moved through the trees.

"FBI! Karchanda put your hands in the air and step away from the cliff," Rossi yelled.

Karchanda gave them one look and took off running into the woods. Hotch, Rossi, and Reid followed.

"Come on, let's find Prentiss," Morgan said. They hurried to the car and looked inside.

"There must have been some sort of building he was holding her in." Morgan started to walk into the woods, but JJ stopped him.

"Wait, Morgan, this is blood." She pointed to a small trail that went across the road to the edge of the cliff. They thought back to where Karchanda had been standing, and then peered over the edge.

What they saw shocked them both; Emily was sitting on the ladder in the water, but her head had fallen back and was under the water too.

"Dammit," Morgan hissed as he started down the ladder.

All JJ could do was watch. When Morgan got to the bottom of the ladder he hoisted Emily's limp body over his shoulder and started climbing back up. He was out of breath when he reached the top, and laid Emily gently down on the ground. Her skin had a hint a blue to it and it was clear she wasn't breathing.

"JJ, see how far out the ambulance is," Morgan ordered as he took his jacket off and placed it around Emily's chest.

But JJ couldn't move. She couldn't look away. As she looked at Emily, suddenly she couldn't hear anything around her.

"JJ!" Morgan yelled when she didn't respond the first time.

Finally she snapped out of it and stared at Morgan as he started giving CPR. "What?"

"Call the paramedics, see how soon they'll be here!" He kept his voice loud as he continued CPR on Emily's lifeless body.

JJ fumbled to get her cell phone out of her pocket, and it took her three times to dial the number correctly, "They're three minutes out," She was finally able to tell Morgan.

He nodded at this information, but didn't take his eyes off Emily. JJ dropped down to the hard ground and gripped Emily's cold hand in hers.

Tears came to her eyes, but she wouldn't let go of Emily to wipe them away. "Don't you dare leave me Emily," Her voice cracked as she whispered.

A tear dropped from her eye to Emily's icy skin and slid to the ground. "Help's coming, Em, please just hang on.

JJ gripped her hand tighter as she heard sirens in the distance. "Morgan?" There was desperateness in her voice that she gave no attempt to mask.

"We can still get her back," He said as he continued to perform CPR, "We can still get her back."

Fresh tears came to JJ's eyes as she knew the longer Emily was gone, the less chance there was of getting her back.

And then all of a sudden someone else was there. JJ was pushed out of the way as the paramedics loaded Emily onto a stretcher, and all she could do was stand there dumbly. She couldn't understand anything that was being said or done. Everyone was in a hurry, but it seemed as though she was in slow motion.

JJ felt a hand go on her shoulder and turned to see Morgan standing there.

"Come on JJ," He said as he started to lead her to the ambulance. The door was open and he took her hand and helped her inside. Seconds later they were speeding down streets with the sirens on.

JJ stared out the front window, but each time she heard a shout from the back she cringed.

_Her blood pressure was dropping. Her core temperature was too low. Her pulse was weak._

Each word sent a shiver down JJ's spine and tears once again began to fall from her eyes. She couldn't believe it was happening again. She couldn't lose Emily, not again, not for good.

**What do you think? I'd love to hear it!**


	9. Chapter 9

JJ sat alone in the hospital waiting room. Her elbows were rested on her knees and her head was in her hands. She looked at the clock again and saw that while it felt like she had been sitting there for hours; it had only been twenty minutes.

She heard footsteps coming from down the hall and looked up, her blonde hair falling down past her shoulders. She prayed it was Emily's Doctor, but instead it was Morgan, who was now wearing a pair of dry navy blue scrubs. He handed her a cup of coffee and then sat down in the hard plastic chair next to her.

They sat there silently, and all JJ could think about was the last time they were in a hospital. When she was telling the rest of the team that Emily was dead. It should've been easier for her, because she knew the truth, but the tears had still come to her eyes. Even knowing that Emily was alive didn't change the fact that JJ would never get to see her again.

The ticking of the clock on the wall filled the silent room. JJ covered her eyes with her hands and massaged her temples. Every time she heard footsteps her head jerked up to see if it was the Doctor, but it never was.

Morgan's phone rang, and he reached for it, putting it up to his ear, "Morgan."

JJ could only hear his side of the conversation, but it didn't sound good.

"What?... Are you kidding me?... Dammit Rossi!" He shouted before slamming his phone shut and dropping his head.

JJ looked over and waited until he turned his head. "They're setting up roadblocks, and have Officers searching the woods," Morgan said, "He doesn't have a car so they don't think he can get too far."

JJ closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

XXX

Another pair of footsteps sounded, but JJ didn't bother looking up anymore. She heard someone sit down in the chair next to her and then they took her hand. She looked over and saw Garcia sitting there.

She met Garcia's red eyes and knew that hers looked similar.

"Garcia?" JJ whispered.

"What is it Sugarplum?" Garcia asked.

"Could I- Could I talk to you?" She asked hesitantly.

"Of course."

JJ glanced to her side and then back to Garcia, "Could we go somewhere else?"

Garcia looked over and could only see Morgan, but agreed nonetheless. The pair stood up and as they walked away Morgan snapped his head up and called out, "Where are you two going?"

"We'll be back," Garcia promised.

Morgan opened his mouth, but deciding against it, closed it again.

They rounded the corner, and then Garcia stopped. JJ leaned up against the wall to support herself and looked at the woman in front of her. She wanted to talk, but nothing would come out of her mouth.

"It's okay Jayje," Garcia put her hand on her shoulder.

JJ nodded and looked down before pulling her eyes up again, "Garcia, I need to tell you something," She finally sputtered out.

"What is it?" Garcia was now fully concentrated on JJ.

"I need you to know that we wanted to tell you before, but we just kept putting it off, and then all this happened. But we wanted you to know first. But now Emily's here, and I'm scared... oh God Pen, I don't know what to do," JJ rambled as tears came to her eyes.

"It's going to be okay JJ," Garcia found herself comforting her friend, a position she was rarely in.

"But what if it's not? What if Emily... I need you to know. I can't be alone in this," JJ's words were now barely a whisper and Garcia had to lean in to hear her.

"You can tell me anything Butterfly. I am here for you, always," Garcia assured her.

JJ took in a deep breath, "Emily and I... we've been seeing each other."

Garcia waited a moment before responding, "Seeing?"

"Dating... I'm in love with her Pen, and I don't know... I don't know how to deal with this, I don't know what I'll do if I lose her," JJ's voice became thick with tears as she choked out the final words.

"Oh JJ!" Garcia pulled her into a tight hug, "Emily's a fighter, she's going to make it."

"You didn't see her," JJ said as tears fell from her eyes, "Oh Garcia, she was blue! She wasn't breathing and- and she was so cold."

Garcia felt a fresh batch of tears come to her eyes as JJ cried into her shoulder. She rubbed JJ's back as the tears shook through her.

Please God, Garcia prayed, Emily needed to be okay, or else no one would be.

XXX

"Emily Prentiss?"

The three of them looked up to see a middle aged man in scrubs matching Morgan's standing in the doorway. They all stood up and walked over, "Yeah," Morgan said.

"She was in cardiac arrest, when she got here we put her on heart-lung bypass. As we started to re-warm her, her heart came back, and she's now on a mechanical ventilator." He said.

"How are you doing that? Re- warming her I mean," JJ asked.

"We've injected warm intravenous fluids into her veins, and that will help warm her entire body. Right now that's our major concern, but she has also suffered six broken fingers, a cracked rib and some minor burns," He explained.

JJ closed her eyes and took in a deep breath; she couldn't believe all that had happened.

"Is she going to be okay?" Garcia asked interrupting JJ's thoughts.

"She hasn't woken up yet, but all of her major organs seem to be functioning correctly. There doesn't seem to be any apparent brain damage, but we won't know for sure until she wakes up."

"Can we see her?" JJ asked.

The doctor shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I will come tell you as soon as you can."

As he turned around and left JJ, Morgan, and Garcia remained standing.

"Damn," Morgan muttered before pulling out his cell phone and calling Hotch.  
Garcia turned to JJ, "Hey Jayje, it sounds like she could be okay."

JJ gave her a sad smile and returned back to her seat.

XXX

Hossain looked behind him as he ran through the woods. He was confident that he had lost the FBI agents so he slowed down and ducked behind a tree to wait. He was breathing heavy as he waited for shouts, and just as he expected, heard none. A smile crossed his lips, he had beaten them. He knew these woods better than they did. He knew where he was going, so after a few moments rest he stood up, and this time, he walked.

Twenty minutes later he made it to the edge of the woods and saw a road. Looking up and down he saw he was the only one there so he continued walking until he made it to a small town. First he found a barber shop and got his goatee shaved off his hair cut then he went and bought new clothes, and a black hat.

He was prepared, he wasn't giving up. He had to make sure Emily Prentiss was dead, and if she wasn't, she would be soon.

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, but I was having some trouble with this chapter... so I'd love to hear any thoughts that you had. Thanks to all you readers! **


	10. Chapter 10

"_Prentiss, hey, it's me, I'm right here. You're gonna be all right. Stay with me baby, come on, stay with me."_

"_Let me go."_

"_No. No I am not letting you go- HELP ME- listen to me, I know why you did all of this, I know what you did for Declan, and I am so proud of you. Do you understand that? I am proud of you because you are my friend and you are my partner. No Emily, come on stay with me! If you can hear me, please just squeeze my hand. Yes, there you go, there you go, just keep squeezing." _

XXX

Hossain stepped into the empty car and easily hotwired it to run. He disarmed the alarm and pulled it into gear. The weight of the gun on his side brought him great comfort. He knew there would be road blocks set up, but he had walked through neighborhoods and was now out of their perimeter. There were only so many cops.

Hossain smiled as he revved the engine and took off down the road. Although this was not ideal, he was ready. He was always prepared, and all that he needed to do was put plan B into action.

XXX

"Jayje?" Garcia rested her hand on JJ's shoulder.

JJ tipped her head so her red-rimmed eyes met Garcia's.

"Come with me," She offered JJ a hand, and she reluctantly took it. They walked down the hospital hallway together.

"Where are we going Pen? I should be there waiting, what if Emily wakes up?" JJ stopped.

"Morgan promised to call the second he hears _anything_. We're still in the hospital."

JJ reluctantly began to follow Garcia again. When they entered the cafeteria Garcia led her to a seat and went up to get food. All JJ could think of was Emily. How her beautiful skin had been so blue. She hadn't been breathing. Despite what the Doctor said about her having a good chance, JJ didn't trust him. She wouldn't trust anyone until Emily was in her arms.

Hotch had ordered a security detail to be outside Emily's room even though there were three FBI agents down the hall. This did little to soothe JJ's fear that Karchanda would come back and try to kill Emily again. When they hadn't known where Emily was, JJ hadn't been able to function, and even with her back, she wasn't much better.

JJ looked up and saw that Garcia was back, and had placed food on their table. A piece of chocolate cake, vanilla pudding, and bowl of fruit, and a cup of soup.

"I didn't know what you wanted," Garcia explained, "but I figured cake was always a good bet."

"Thanks Garcia," JJ pulled the chocolate cake towards her and eyed it.

Garcia waited for her to take a bite before talking, "When did you and Emily start going out?"

"What?" JJ asked, her mouth still full.

"Come on! You can't just drop a bombshell about you and Emily dating, and then not give me any details!" While Garcia was curious, she was also trying to keep JJ distracted from the current situation.

"A week or two after she came back," JJ eyes turned dreamy as she remembered their first official date. She had taken Emily to a small Italian Bistro. After, that they had gone back to her house and watched a movie.

"Well who asked who? Let me guess, she asked you?"

JJ let out the smallest of laughs, "No Pen, I asked her."

"You did?" Garcia asked, astonished.

"I was sick of waiting. I know this sounds cheesy, but ever since she joined the team, I just couldn't forget her dark eyes. I tried to ignore it, I was afraid she wouldn't feel the same. I hadn't even told you that I liked women, and I was just scared... I didn't want it to change our friendship."

"I love you just as much as I did before, Butterfly, don't you ever worry about that."

"You're great Garcia, you really are," JJ smiled at her friend.

"Well back to you and Emily," Garcia started, "how did you guys, you know, get together?"

"I don't know exactly. Her last few month before Doyle happened, I saw her looking at me differently. Even when I was at the Pentagon we would get together for lunch, and things were different... better. But as soon as I got the courage to say anything, Doyle came. When she left I was so scared I wouldn't ever get to see her again. And then when I had to help her fake her death, I knew that I would never take another second with her for granted," JJ thought about their minimal contact through online scrabble, their cryptic that couldn't hold much, "And then she got to come home," Tears came to JJ's eyes and Garcia took her hands.

"I knew that I couldn't waste any more time," JJ started again, "So a few weeks after she got back, I asked her. I was still afraid she would reject me, but I knew I had to. After all that time of having to pretend she was dead, I couldn't stay away from her any longer," JJ stopped for a moment, before continuing, "and she said yes, she said yes Pen."

Garcia could see a light in JJ's eyes as she talked about Emily. She knew that if Emily didn't make it... she wouldn't be the only one gone.

"Emily's gonna make it JJ, I can feel it."

JJ just smiled sadly, "I hope so."

Garcia remembered all too clearly the time when she had been shot, when a man had been trying to kill her, when he came to her house. "Be there for her Jayje, when she wakes up, be there. But also be there with her when she goes home."

"I know Garcia, I want to be there so badly."

Right then Garcia's cell phone rang and she picked it up, "Uh huh... okay... yeah, we'll meet you there."

"What is it?" JJ's eyes were bright with hope.

"Sorry Butterfly, the doctor says we won't be able to see her until tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," JJ looked down and felt her insides crush.

XXX

"You should go home JJ, we can't see her until tomorrow," Morgan said, holding his jacket in his hands.

"I think I'm just going to stay here, just in case. I think someone should be here."

"Well at least let me stop by your house and pick you up some clothes," He reasoned.

JJ shot a glance to Garcia, "I think Garcia was going to do that."

"Your house is right on the way to mine, I've got it," Morgan said.

JJ started to panic, she barely had any clothes at her own house, and it was clear she hadn't lived there in a while, "Ummmm, I think Garcia..."

"I'll meet you out in the hall, my chocolate god," Garcia shooed him out of the room.

"What?" He put his hands up, but followed her orders nonetheless.

When he was out of the room Garcia turned to JJ, "Something you want to tell me?"

"Uhh, yeah, I didn't mention it, but I moved in with Emily."

Garcia's eyes immediately brightened, "Oh my God, I can't believe it! My two girls," She threw her arms around JJ, "So this _is _serious."

"Yeah," JJ smiled, "We're pretty serious," JJ paused, "My clothes are in her room on the left side of the dresser, you should probably bring some things for Emily so she has them when she gets to leave."

"Of course," Garcia let go of her.

"Oh, and could you bring the gray Yale shirt? It's in the top drawer on the right side."

"Yale shirt? I don't think you went to Yale," Garcia joked, and smiled at the flustered woman, "Okay, I'll see you first thing in the morning Sweetie. Call me or Morgan if you need anything, we will be here before you even hang up the phone."

"I know you will Garcia, thank you."

Garcia left the room and met up with Morgan in the hall.

"What was that all about?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing to worry about, just a girl thing," Garcia smiled at Morgan' confused expression as they left the hospital.

XXX

JJ stood alone in the waiting room. She was scared and tired, and just wanted to see Emily. She could hear people moving about the hospital. JJ curled up on an uncomfortable chair and closed her eyes. She thought that if she could just go to sleep, then the morning would come sooner, and she would get to see Emily.

But the more she tried to do that, the less tired she became. She sat back up and looked at her watch. She walked down the hall, and then looked at her watch again. It just wasn't working. Only seconds passed by when it should have been minutes, hours.

Finally she sat down again and thought. She passed the time remembering her dinners with Emily, and going to her house. Always driving separate cars to the BAU. She thought of Emily's dark hair, and her light skin, and the way it was always so smooth. She thought of her soft lips, and how much she wanted to feel their warmth against hers.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! I hope your summer is going great :) I just want to apologize in advance for any medical info that may be incorrect, I'm trying my hardest though. **

**I do not own Criminal Minds**

"Morning Em," JJ greeted as she stepped up to the hospital bed.

Emily looked around the room, her eyes tired, and let a small smile sneak out, "Jayje," She sighed.

"I'm right here, Emily, and I'm not leaving," JJ brushed her hand through Emily's hair.

Emily took her own hand, a tangle of IVs, and rested it on JJ's.

JJ wanted to kiss her so badly, but instead said, "Morgan and Garcia are here too."

"How ya doin' Princess? You gave us a scare," Morgan said as he looked at his friend. If she had died, he never would have been able to forgive himself. Last time she was hurt, he had been too late- or so he thought. And that was a feeling he never wanted to have again.

"The doctor told us you're doing great," JJ assured her.

"Emily!" Garcia moved closer towards her, "I'm so glad you're okay." She had tears in her eyes.

Now came the part JJ was dreading, "Em, could you answer a few questions for us? We can wait if you need."

Emily shook her head, "I'm fine, what is it?"

Morgan stepped forward, "Is there anything you can tell us about Hossain? Does he have any connections in the US? Any friends? Anyone who might help him?"

"Why?" Emily asked, clearly confused, "why do you need to know?"

"We just need to know Emily, we need to know everything about him," Morgan said.

Emily shook her head, "I don't think so, he never made friends at Interpol, and for his social life, I have no idea."

"Do you know why he took you? Was it for Doyle?"

"I think it started like that, maybe more as an excuse. He just wanted an excuse to…" Tears came to Emily's eyes and she gripped onto JJ's hands tighter. "He talked about his sister. He wanted to make someone pay."

"That's real good Emily," Morgan said.

"Why are you asking me this Derek?" Emily looked up at him, she knew. She knew there was no reason to ask this if Hossain was dead, if he had been captured. He would only ask this if he was out there. Out there hiding.

"I'm so sorry," JJ said.

Emily looked at her, her eyes wide, "Tell me."

"Tell you what, Em?"

"You know, JJ. I need to hear it; I need to know it's true."

JJ bit her lip and took in a deep breath, "Hossain escaped, and we don't know where he is."

Emily closed her eyes and let a few tears slip from behind her eyelids. She thought of what he did to her, and now he was gone. Free to come after her again. Free to come after everybody and anybody.

"He's not going to stop," Emily whispered, her eye's still closed.

JJ wiped the tears from Emily's cheek, "I know sweetie, I know. But we're going to get him before he hurts anyone else. We have a 24 hour guard on your room, no one's getting in."

"But what about you? Who's protecting you?" Emily opened her tear filled eyes and locked them on JJ's.

"I'm not leaving this hospital until Hossain is behind bars; I'm with you through all of this Emily."

XXX

Hossain watched him, and he followed him. He had changed the plates on his stolen car and kept the speed limit, nothing was going to ruin his plan now. Not when he was so close.

He watched the man as he pulled into the parking lot. Hossain adjusted his cap and tilted it to block any camera views. He thought of the gun he had tucked under the passenger seat, and his heart rate elevated. He had bought it on the street with the rest of his cash, but it assured him no paper trail.

He smiled, he was ready. And this time, nothing would go wrong.

XXX

Garcia and Morgan had gone back to the BAU to help the rest of the team search for Hossain. JJ took the duffel bag that Garcia had dropped off and stood up.

"I'm going to go change," She headed towards the adjoining bathroom.

It felt like she had worn these clothes for a month. She pulled on a pair of jeans, and Emily's Yale t- shirt. She clutched the shirt up to her nose and took in all the scents; the smell of Emily.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, Emily's eyes moved with her. Emily slid over in her bed and patted the side for JJ. She obliged and lay on her side next to Emily. JJ wrapped her arms around her, "I love you Emily." She whispered, her lips tickling the other woman's skin.

"When Doyle had me, all I could think of was you, how much I wanted you, but how I couldn't have you. This time I can," Emily's eyes begged for JJ's touch.

JJ brought her hands to either side of Emily's face and held them there. She moved her face closer and lightly brushed Emily's lips with hers, "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't JJ, but I don't want to think about anything but you."

JJ adjusted herself, making sure none of her weight was on Emily and brought her lips to Emily's. Emily's were still cool, but not blue as they had been before. JJ was gentle, and kept the kisses light and soft.

A knock came on the door, and JJ sat up. Moments later the doctor walked in.

"Hello, Ms…?" The doctor greeted.

"JJ, just JJ."

"Okay JJ. Emily how are you feeling?" He moved his attention over to Emily.

"Better," Emily brushed her fingers against JJ's back.

"That's good. But for you to have a complete recovery it's necessary for you to rest. JJ I'm going to ask that you leave now and let your friend sleep."

"Okay," JJ stood up, "I'll be right here in the hospital Emily."

Emily nodded as JJ left the room. The doctor gave her a sedative and then he too left the room.

XXX

Hossain watched the man get out of his car, and he followed. He kept the gun under his coat and quickly approached him. In a swift motion, before the man even noticed, Hossain brought the gun to his back.

"Walk, do not make a sound, or I will kill you. You co-operate and you live."

"What do you want?" He man asked, fear in his voice.

"I want you to keep walking to the side of the building."

XXX

JJ stepped out of the room and looked over to the officer keeping watch.

"Hello Officer," JJ looked at his name plate, "O'Neil"

He nodded at her, "Hello."

"Agent Jareau, with the FBI," She reached out her hand and shook his.

"Nice to meet you ma'am, I really hope that your Agent is okay," He said sincerely.

"Thank you," JJ smiled, "You know, I'm going to get some coffee, do you want any?"

"That sounds great, but," He looked at his watch, "I was supposed to be relieved 15 minutes ago."

"How's this, if you're gone when I get back, I'll give it to the next officer, and then he'll owe you."

"He already does, I'm missing my daughters birthday party right now."

"Thank you for doing this O'Neil, she's a friend," JJ nodded to the room.

"Of course, anything for one of our own."

JJ smiled again and left to go get coffee.

XXX

"Get on your knees," Hossain ordered.

"You said you wouldn't kill me!"

"I won't if you shut up and listen to me."

The man followed his orders and got down on his knees. Hossain smiled at the stupidity of humans and pulled out the gun from the man's back. He could see the man physically relax with the cold metal away from his skin.

Hossain looked at the gun in his hand, brought it to the back of the mans head, and fired it. Blood sprayed Hossain's face, so he took his shirt off and wiped it off quickly. Then he started to undress the man.

XXX

JJ came back with two cups of coffee and saw that Officer O'Neill's replacement had in fact come.

"Hello Officer… Jackson. I'm with the FBI, and here's a coffee from O'Neill, I think you owe him one," She handed the cup to the new officer, and barely noticed that he kept his head down.

"Of course," The officer coughed, "My bad for being late."

JJ laughed as he took his cup and continued down the hallway. She walked out the door and went into the fresh air. JJ sat down on a bench and sipped her coffee while she thought about how great it would be when Emily got to come home.

Then her phone rang, interrupting her peaceful thoughts.

"JJ, it's Hotch, we've got a problem."

"What is it?" JJ could hear the urgency in his voice, and she didn't like it.

"Someone just found a body in the hospital's dumpster."

"Okay..."

"It belongs to Officer Jackson, he was supposed to replace O'Neil. He's been stripped of his uniform" Hotch explained its significance.

"But I just talked to Jackson… Oh god…"

"JJ we're on our way right now!"

But JJ had already dropped the phone. She took one look at the building and started sprinting.

**What did you think? :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took so long and I left you on a cliff hanger! I got distracted by my other story: The Things We Do (you should check it out!) This one's a bit shorter, but at least I finally updated :) I'd love to hear what you think.**

**I'm trying to make all things accurate, so I apologize if something is wrong.**

**I do not own Criminal Minds**

JJ sprinted down the hall and un-holstered the gun from her waist. She thanked God that she still had it with her. All she focused on was moving forward, getting to Emily's room. She flew down the corner and ignored the shouts for her to walk.

The door was closed, and the blinds shut in Emily's room. JJ went for the door, and when she realized it was locked, she brought her foot up and kicked with all her body weight. It opened up and JJ raised her gun.

When she stepped into the room she saw Hossain. She hated herself for not recognizing him sooner. He had shaved and his hair was different, but he had the same eyes as from his pictures. Dark and cold.

He had pulled Emily up from the bed, and held her body in front of himself. He had a gun in one hand, and an empty syringe was on the floor by his feet. JJ moved her eyes and saw the IV just to the left of his shoulder.

She could see it now. He had injected the contents of the syringe into Emily's IV bag. It would take time to move through the IV into Emily's veins, but JJ didn't know how long it had been. For all she knew a poison could be coursing through the woman she loved.

JJ pulled her gun up and locked it on Hossain; the only part of his body revealed was his head. JJ didn't know if she could take the shot without hitting Emily.

"Hossain, drop the gun," JJ said with a tone both controlled and firm. She could feel her heart quicken as he looked up at her, his gun still pointed at the ground.

"Ah, the precious JJ," He smiled, "I've heard so much about you."

"Just drop the gun, I don't give a damn what you know," JJ quickly glanced at Emily and thanked God she was still asleep.

"But don't you want to know what Emily told me while we were in the cabin?" Hossain laughed, "She told me to kill you instead. She would have sold your life for hers. But now due to your incompetence you can both die."

"Well, you've already poisoned her, so why don't you just shoot me?" JJ dared, trying to get Hossain's gun off of Emily who had just started to stir.

"I'll let you watch her die first. Or maybe… you can go first," Hossain shook Emily's body, and she groaned and slowly opened her eyes, "Guess the drugs weren't strong enough," Hossain smiled, "Anyways, I want to let her feel the pain."

Emily's eyes slowly blinked open, "JJ?" She whispered before looking down and seeing Hossain's grip around her.

"You're going to be okay Em," JJ looked into Emily's dark confused eyes, "I promise you."

"Oh come on Jennifer, we both know that's not true," Hossain pulled her tighter, "Emily will be dead soon enough, I just have to hold her here until the poison takes over. But you, you I can have some fun with." Hossain stroked the muzzle of the gun against Emily's temple, "Now dear Emily. Would you like to watch Jennifer die? Or should we wait for you? Should we let Jennifer watch you struggle, as you convulse, and spasm and soon enough die?"

JJ's eyes widened as she watched Emily's body become rigid under the grasp of Hossain.

"It's starting," Hossain turned to Emily and smiled, "Welcome to your own living hell."

JJ brought her gun down an inch, but then raised it higher, "What did you do to her?"

"Strychnine," Hossain was almost giddy with excitement as Emily's back arched and she cried out with pain.

JJ didn't know what strychnine was, but she could see how much pain Emily was in, and she didn't know how long it would be until this poison killed her. While Hossain had his eyes on Emily, JJ looked through the line of sight on her gun, and lined it up with his head. She couldn't miss. If she did, it would hit Emily.

In that moment, Emily's body moved again, and Hossain lost grip of her. She slid back to the bed, and JJ had a split second open shot at Hossain.

Without hesitating she fired twice in his chest, and he crumbled to the ground. JJ ran to his body, and picked up the gun, not bothering to check for a pulse. She held one gun in his direction and ran over to Emily.

Screams came from the other side of the door, but JJ couldn't hear them. Two officers burst into the room with their guns out.

"I'm a federal agent," JJ shouted, not able to control the fear that was gripping her chest, "Get me a doctor!"

Seconds later a man in a white coat was hurried in.

"She's been poisoned with strychnine!" JJ shouted as another convulsion took over Emily's body.

JJ could see the doctor's appearance physically change. His face grew ashen and he shouted something out the door that JJ didn't understand.

Two more doctors rushed in and the moved Emily's rigid body to a stretcher. The rest of the team arrived in time to see Emily brought down the hall, with a doctor shouting to various people in the hall.

"JJ!" Morgan hurried over, "What the hell happened? Where's Hossain, what happened to Emily?"

JJ barely heard Morgan speak to her. She saw Emily's body again. Heard her scream in pain as her body took on a mind of itself.

"Strychnine."

"Strychnine?" Reid gasped.

"What is it?" JJ asked, looking at him.

"Strychnine's poison… It doesn't have an antidote."

"Kid, are you telling me she's going to die?" Morgan's eyes widened, and had visible pain. He couldn't be too late, not again.

"Not necessarily," Reid mumbled.

"But you just said-"Rossi pointed out.

"Not everyone dies," Reid said, "There's a chance."

"How much of a chance?"

"Not very much…"


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey all! Here's the next chapter. This one was pretty hard to write, so I'd like to hear your thought on it :) **

"Tell me," JJ said, looking at Reid.

What?"

"You know. Tell me what's going to happen to her."

Reid shrugged and turned to look towards the ground.

JJ took a step towards him, "You tell me now, or I will go and look it up for myself on the internet. And we both know which will be worse." She was clenching and un- clenching her fists, trying to keep her panic at bay.

Reid looked around towards the other members, and saw Hotch's slight nod, "I'm not comfortable telling you this," Reid shifted from foot to foot.

"So now you don't feel comfortable spewing facts?" JJ spat, covering her pain by lashing out at him, "For once in your life someone actually cares about what you have to say, so you better damn well tell me. And if you leave anything out, there will be hell to pay."

Reid was surprised by JJ's outburst, and transferred all his thought to the information he knew, it helped keep him away from the emotion he was feeling, "Strychnine is a neurotoxin. It affects the motor nerves and the spinal cord. The symptoms include nausea, muscle spasms and convulsions, loss of consciousness, and can lead to death. Death is a result of asphyxia, caused by the muscle spasms."

"And there's no cure?" JJ's voice was losing its edge.

Reid shook his head, "They'll give her fluids, and drugs to stop the convulsions. They'll also get as much of the drug out of her as they can."

"Is she in pain?"

Reid paused and looked around.

"Look at me," JJ ordered, "do not lie to me. Is she in pain?"

"They'll give her pain killers, and try to sedate her…"

"Reid."

"Yeah," Reid looked down, "yeah, she's in a lot of pain."

A sound escaped JJ as she bent over at the waist. Morgan moved towards her, fearing she might collapse. JJ's eyes were squeezed shut, and tears streamed down her face, but she didn't move. She didn't make another sound.

XXX

Emily felt the muscles in her back tighten. She cried out in pain as they knotted and twisted and tried to pull out of her skin. Her body moved without her minds permission, and she felt like she would die.

Sweat covered her body, and only moments of relief interrupted the unearthly pain that was her body. She was caged in something that wasn't her. Her back arched forwards, and she screamed.

She wanted to die.

XXX

JJ couldn't handle this. Her mind couldn't wrap itself around what she had heard. All she could think of was Emily, the Emily she loved. The Emily with frozen lips and blue skin.

She thought of the Emily with the wooden stake in her stomach. The one with blood flowing from her abdomen.

She thought of the Emily with short hair and bitten nails. She thought of the passports and the bank accounts.

She thought of the funeral and the tears.

She knew she couldn't do this again; that her mind wouldn't be able to handle another loss. That anything more would push her over the edge.

But most of all, she knew she didn't want to feel like this. Helpless, alone, scared.

XXX

Emily heard screams, and knew they must be from her. Her face was wet with tears and snot. Someone opened the door to her room, and the sound brought on another round of pain.

"This is going to help you feel better," Someone faintly whispered.

Emily couldn't respond, and wasn't even sure that someone had spoken, but a few minutes later she could feel her body relax, and Emily only cried with joy. She knew it wouldn't last forever, but it was here and it was now, and that's all that mattered anymore.

She felt herself fade, and she couldn't tell if it was sleep or death. But she didn't care.

XXX

JJ felt someone put an arm around her, and she struck out blindly. But that didn't fend off whoever it was. They moved closer and wrapped another arm around her shaking side. JJ tried to pull away and swung again, hitting something this time.

She opened her eyes and saw it was Morgan. "Let go of me," Her voice was flat.

"No."

JJ felt something building in her, anger. Something she knew deep down wasn't right, but it kept her from the hopeless pit of desperation, "Get away."

JJ struggled, and when he didn't move, she formed a fist, and hit him in the side. She hit him again, not hard enough for it to cause Morgan too much pain, and then she hit him again. Rage blinded her, but she couldn't think clearly enough to see it wasn't directed at him, but herself.

"I get it JJ, I get it," He mumbled.

"No you don't," She spat, "I watched her die twice, but I promised her she would be okay."

"I was there too JJ, but for you it was only once."

JJ stopped her struggle and looked up at him, "You think that was easier?" She asked in a strangely measured tone, "Knowing I would never see her again? She may as well have been dead."

"You didn't have to bury her," Morgan let go of her, and let himself too get caught up in the pain of the past.

"I buried her the second I handed her those passports."

Morgan shook his head, "Never mind JJ, I'm sorry,"

"God dammit, no you're not," JJ hissed, "Did you ever think she did this for you?" She pointed at him, her face flush red, "Did you ever think about how hard this was for her? You ever think about what it was like to live for months in isolation, only to return and have your team turn their backs on you? I watched Emily come home every day, worn out from trying to please you, depressed and blaming herself for the way she was treated. She told me maybe we all would've been better off if Doyle had killed her," JJ's words filled the room, "Did you ever care?"

Finally JJ stopped, feeling drained of all the anger. She took a step back and looked at Morgan. Looked at his wounded face. She turned and saw Garcia crying, and everyone else silent. She backed out of the room and finally collapsed.

The only thing she had accomplished was alienating the only people around her. She felt even more hopeless. If Emily died, so would she.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello all! Look! My update time was pretty darn good :) This is a lighter chapter than the last one, I hope it can balance out well. For those of you who were wondering, depending on how things go, I'm going to try and finish this story by November. I'm doing NaNoWriMo, and I don't want to leave you guys hanging again! Thank you to all those faithful readers, and those who have continued to review during my sporatic time of updating, it means a lot to hear from all you!**

**I do not own Criminal Minds**

_Emily intertwined JJ's fingers with hers. She smiled at the feeling of JJ's soft skin and breathed in the night air. _

_"I love you JJ," Emily said while looking up at the sky._

_"I love you too Em," JJ smiled, "I'll always love you." _

_"I don't know how I managed to go so long without you in my life," Emily said, "I don't think I could live without you now."_

_"Good thing you don't have to."_

_They turned onto a road with lights from local businesses shining onto them, along with walking couples and small families. _

_"You ever think about it?" Emily asked, tilting her head to look at JJ._

_"What?"_

_"That," Emily pointed to a couple walking with a little girl in between them, "a family."_

_"Yeah," JJ turned and met Emily's eyes, "I've thought about it."_

_"And?"_

_"And I think you'd make a great mom. I think we'd make a good family," She smiled as she watched Emily's eyes shine. _

Emily broke out of the dream with pain in both her legs. All she could think about was that she and JJ would never get to start a family

XXX

"Come on kiddo, my knees aren't what they used to be."

JJ looked up and saw Rossi standing there. He got down and sat next to her. JJ gave him a look, and turned her gaze back to her knees.

"You can't push us away that easily," he smiled, "we're here for the long run."

JJ shook her head, "You heard what I said to Morgan…"

"Sometimes our emotions make us say things we don't mean."

"That's the thing though," JJ took in a breath, "I meant everything I said."

Rossi nodded his head, "But is that how you wanted to say it?"

"No," JJ admitted.

"Did it make you feel better?"

"At first."

"And now?"

"Nothing will make me feel better."

"Let me guess, it was easier to be mad than how you feel now," Rossi said.

JJ closed her eyes and nodded, "A lot easier."

"Well you could go around picking fights with everyone, but I don't think that's going to help anyone. I'm not going to pretend I know exactly how you feel. Right now one of my best friends, team mates, and a family member is in danger, but somehow I feel like there may be more to that for you." Rossi patted her knee.

JJ didn't answer, but Rossi knew he had guessed right, "How long?"

"Since she came back," JJ let out a small smile.

Rossi nodded, "I'm not going to make any promises I can't keep, but I can promise you that I will always be here. Whether you need a hug, to talk, or to fight."

"Thanks Rossi, right now I think I just need you to be here."

"I can do that too."

They sat in silence for a while, until JJ spoke, "What am I going to say to Morgan?"

"Somehow I think he'll understand."

JJ looked down at her hands and picked at her dirty fingernails. Puller her knees tighter to her chest, she took in a deep breath. The light from the hospital hallway was giving her a headache, and she could feel a pounding deep within her skull.

"How did you do it?" JJ whispered, keeping her gaze down, and counting the tiles between her and the other wall.

"How did I do what?" Rossi questioned.

"When your wife died, how did you… live?"

Rossi wrapped his arm around her small shoulders, "I'm not going to lie to you. I hadn't seen Carolyn for a long time, but I never stopped loving her. When she died, I thought I would to. I didn't want to get out of bed, facing the day just seemed too hard, and even more pointless. I couldn't understand why any of it had happened to her, she was such a great woman. Even through our divorce, she stayed my friend."

"Then how did you do it?"

"You guys helped. But mostly I thought about what Carolyn would want. I knew why she died, and I knew her reason didn't involve me going with her. I know that one day when I die, I'm going to go see Carolyn in Heaven. But JJ, look at me," Rossi waited for her to turn her eyes, "Emily is here. She is alive, and she is fighting. You can't give up now."

"But what if she doesn't make it?"

"That's not something I can answer now, and it's something I don't need to. Right now all I'm going to do is pray for her to get better. You worrying over the possibilities isn't going to do anything for her," Rossi pulled her tighter.

"Yeah," JJ nodded, "I know."

XXX

"The first 24 hours is key," The Doctor told the surrounding team.

JJ and Rossi stood among them, waiting to see what he had to say.

"If Ms. Prentiss can make it through the night," The man continued, "then we are confident she will survive."

"How's she doing?" Hotch asked, his face grim and creased with lines.

"The hypothermia and other injuries she suffered have made her body weaker than it would have been otherwise. That being said, she is reacting well to the anti- convulsive medication we have been giving her. The key is to have her body rest as much as possible. Decreasing her agitation will help keep her muscles calm and increase her chance of survival."

XXX

"JJ?" Emily whispered as she saw a figure approach her bed.

"Shhhh," It barely spoke, "try to sleep."

Emily felt warmth through her veins, and wanted to reach out to JJ, but her body was heavy. Warm and heavy. It pulled her to the bed, and pulled her eyelids closed.

_"Come on," Emily laughed, "I thought you were some crazy soccer genius!"_

_JJ chased her around the park as Emily kicked around a soccer ball that they had found in Emily's closet. JJ caught up, and pretended to try and swipe the ball away, but purposefully missed and let Emily continue to have it. _

_"I guess you're just better then you thought," JJ complimented, running up to her again. _

_Emily kicked it a good three feet in front of her, and this time JJ couldn't resist. She cut in front of Emily, and moved her feet in a way she hadn't since college. Using both her feet she flicked the ball behind her, around her back, and over her head. As it flew back at her she caught it with her knee. _

_"You've been holding out of me Jennifer Jareau!" She thought a moment, "Wait… You've been letting me have the ball!" Emily accused. _

_JJ looked between Emily and the ball sheepishly, then bounced it from her knee, to her foot, did a header, and then cradled it in her ankle. _

_Emily ran towards her, went for the ball, but tripped instead. She could feel herself starting to fall, and with an evil smile, grabbed JJ's arm and brought her down too. _

_Emily landed on top of her and rested on her elbows. _

_"I think we're even," JJ huffed, and tried to move._

_"I don't think so," Emily said playfully, "did you know I let you win when we play chess?"_

_"What?" JJ widened her eyes, "No way!"_

_"Yup," Emily smiled smugly. _

_"That is just… evil! You told me I was improving!"_

_"Well the way you started, almost anything would be an improvement." Emily moved her fingers and ran them against JJ's side. _

_JJ tried to pout, but couldn't hide her smile, "How about I don't let you have the ball in soccer, and we play fair in chess."_

_"No," Emily whined, "You're no fun when you lose. You're too competitive." _

_"If you let me win, you'll see a whole new side of me."_

_"Scary," Emily laughed. She moved her hands up JJ's sides towards her face. _

_"How about," She kissed her lightly on the lips, "we stop our game," She kissed her again, "and do something we're both good at?"_

_"Deal," JJ whispered as Emily brought her lips against hers again. _


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello faithful readers :) I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**I do not own Criminal Minds**

No one slept that night, and no one expected to. Hotch stepped out into the hallway and took out his phone. He dialed the number, and without looking away from his team, held it up to his ear. It rang four times before it was answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Jessica," Hotch said, greeting Haley's sister, "Is Jack still up?"

"Yeah, he wouldn't go to bed until he talked to you," He could hear the smile in her voice.

"I'm sorry again for asking you to do this last minute, I just… thank you," Hotch squeezed his eyes shut.

"Of course Aaron, I love spending time with my nephew. And I know your job isn't always predictable. This is a bad one, isn't it?" Jessica had become familiar with Aaron's work through his years of marriage to Haley.

Hotch nodded although she couldn't see, "Yeah. Yeah it's a bad one."

"I hope it turns out well, come home safe Aaron."

"It's not me that I'm worried about," He said before shooting another glance to his team.

"Either way. I hope you all come home safe. I'll give the phone to Jack now."

"Thank you Jessica," Hotch whispered as he heard the phone being handed off.

"Daddy!" Jack squealed into phone.

"Hey buddy," Aaron smiled.

"Are you coming home Daddy? I have a soccer game tomorrow, you said you would come!"

Hotch took in a deep breath, "I said if I was home I would, but I don't think I will be Jack."

"But you promised!" He shouted, Hotch could almost see his son's eyebrows furrowing together.

He didn't bother to tell Jack that he hadn't in fact promised, because he knew in Jack's eyes he had, "I'm really sorry. I'm working a case, and I can't come home tonight"

"You can't take back a promise! A promise is a promise, and you promised!"

"There's nothing I can do about this, I'm sorry."

"Don't you love me?" His shout had decreased to a whimper.

"Of course I love you Jack," Hotch's hand shook as he held the phone to his ear.

"Then why aren't you here?"

Hotch felt his heart break as he heard his son ask this question. Heard his son question his love, "I'm sorry," was all he managed before he heard the phone click off.

XXX

JJ continued to stare at the clock. For the life of her she couldn't remember when Emily had been poisoned. Had it been hours? Only one? How close were they to the 24 hour mark?

She saw someone step in front of her, and looked up to Morgan. He was holding out a cup of coffee. She took it wordlessly, and he nodded. Somehow she knew that all was forgotten.

The headache remained from before, seeming to spread around her head. She couldn't remember the last time she ate, let alone slept. She looked around and wondered about the rest of the team. Had she been so caught up in herself that she didn't even wonder about everyone else?

That Garcia had taken the bow out of her hair, which was now limp and lifeless. Her makeup smudged and smeared across her red face. That Morgan was gripping his coffee to tightly it looked like it would burst. That Rossi kept glancing at the rest of the team, too worried about them to worry about himself. That Reid kept pacing back and forth across the hallway. And that ever since Hotch came back from the hall, he hadn't looked at anyone.

And what about Emily? Whether or not she made it things would never be the same. JJ remembered the dreams that plagued her even months after Doyle. She remembered Emily waking up in cold sweats, convinced she was back with Doyle. How she tried to hide the four leaf clover at all times, and hated taking her shirt off in fear of showing her scar.

What now?

XXX

Hours later the sun rose over the trees and brought light into the dim waiting room. It was morning. Everyone looked around, unsure of what to do. It was getting close.

JJ was staring out into the sun. She looked around. People were starting to arrive, and soon the hospital would be busy. New people being admitted and families coming to visit.

She started to pick her nails, a habit she knew was bad, because she told Emily that almost everyday.

"Emily Prentiss?"

JJ bolted up as soon as the words registered. It was the same doctor as last night, he looked worn, and she knew he probably hadn't slept since then. He was soon surrounded by all of the team. JJ felt Rossi squeeze her hand, and looked over towards him.

"Emily responded well to the anti- convulsants. We believe all of the poison is out of her system, or will be soon. She hasn't had any symptoms for the past few hours, and I think the worst is over with."

"So she's… okay?" Garcia whispered.

"She's alive, and that's a miracle right now. Her body is weak from all it's gone through in the past few days. She has other injuries that we can now begin to attend to."

JJ let out a breath that she had been holding since Emily disappeared, "Can I see her?"

The doctor hesitated and looked down at his charts, "She's sleeping now."

"But can I _see_ her? Please?"

"That should be fine, but there are some precautions I'll need you to take, and it can only be for a few minutes."

"I'll do anything," JJ promised.

The doctor nodded and led JJ down the hall, giving her rules as they walked. She nodded to each one, and swore to follow them by the letter.

He led her into a dark room down the hall. JJ took a step in, and could see Emily lying in a bed. She almost would have thought she were dead, had the monitors not been alive with numbers. JJ couldn't help but notice how white she was. How sweat matted her hair against her face.

JJ sat down silently on the chair next to her.

"Oh Emily," She barely whispered. She didn't know what to say. How could she express everything she was feeling in just a few minutes? Emily wasn't even awake. All JJ wanted to do was hold her, and tell her that everything would be okay. But there were rules.

Instead she looked up at Emily, and saw the woman she loved. Her heart started to beat faster, and without even noticing, a tear fell down her face.

"Thank you for being okay," She whispered, another tear fell to her chest, "thank you for not leaving me, because I need you Emily Prentiss"

Emily lifted her eyes open, "Then it's a good thing… I'm not going… anywhere," She slurred.

JJ smiled, "I love you Em."

"Love you…" Emily managed before falling back to sleep.

JJ didn't see her wounds anymore, she saw her perfection.

**3**


	16. Epilogue

**Hey, sorry I kind of dropped off the radar there for a bit... Well here is the ending of my story, thank you for every review and piece of encouragement you've given me along the way! I've got some ideas spinning for another story, so I guess I'll see where that leads me :) **

**Thanks again for taking the time to read this!**

Emily stayed in the hospital gaining strength and recovering from her physical wounds. JJ was there everyday sitting by her side, holding her hand through the hard times, and encouraging her every minute. Members of the team stopped by most days, but then they were called out to a case in Michigan. Being two members short, they were all working double time and had a hard time keeping in touch.

JJ could see Emily start to get antsy. As she became stronger all she wanted to do was leave. She fought doctors and nurses, constantly saying she was okay. And finally, when neither of them could take it anymore, Emily was discharged.

They sat in silence as JJ drove them home. When she pulled into the driveway, JJ got out of the car and hurried over to Emily's side to open the door.

"I'm fine," Emily shooed away JJ's hand.

"What?" JJ asked innocently, "Now I can't escort my girlfriend to the front door?"

Emily sighed and reluctantly took her hand. They walked to the front door together, and when JJ opened it, Emily gasped.

The lights were off, but red candles covered the house putting off a soft glow. Music played, and Emily recognized it, it was the same song they had danced to weeks ago, before all this happened.

"JJ... how?" Emily asked as she stepped inside.

"I've got connections," She smiled, "but let's not worry about the how, let's just worry about what's next."

"I'd say I have more than one idea," Emily smirked, "meet me upstairs."

JJ nodded and walked up the stairs, lingering at the top step before turning down the hallway.

Once JJ was gone, Emily stood still in the doorway. She rested her hand on the wall and closed her eyes, "This is it Prentiss," She whispered to herself, "the next time, you probably won't make it. So this is it." She nodded, took in a deep breath, and opened her eyes. She ascended the stairs and saw JJ lying in their bed.

Emily laid down next to her, and propped herself up on an elbow. She moved her face closer and gazed into JJ's deep eyes. Her lips brushed against hers before JJ stopped her.

"Wait," she whispered, "are you okay? I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't," Emily promised. She moved her head slightly away and instead brought her hand gently to JJ's face. "I'm not okay. I'm scared, and sometimes all I can think about is what happened. And I will talk to you, just not today. Not now. Now, all I want..."

Emily brought her lips against JJ's, moving her hands through JJ's long hair. She pulled herself on top of the other woman, moving her lips to her soft jaw line.

"Now all I want is you," Emily breathed.


End file.
